So far as known to the inventor, previous pilots made by others have been formed of metal and had open ended nozzles. These nozzles tended to melt and were subject to peening in the highly corrosive environment of a natural gas flare.
In one particular pilot of the prior art, there is provided a flame front generator. Fuel and air is pre-mixed and supplied to one end of a pipe, the other end of which includes a nozzle placed adjacent the top of a flare stack. The fuel-air mixture is ignited and travels along the pipe to the nozzle. Such an arrangement is troublesome in that if the pilot goes out, all the fuel-air mixture in the pipe must be blown out before the pilot can be re-lit. The resulting delay and difficulties in establishing the precise fuel-air mixture required to create the flame front (which is dependent on the humidity) makes this pilot unreliable.
The present invention is intended to provide an improvement in pilots for flare stacks, and in particular is intended to provide a continuous pilot that may be re-lit instantaneously.
There is therefore provided in accordance with an aspect of the invention a pilot for a flare stack. The pilot nozzle, an igniter and a frame assembly for operably supporting the igniter, nozzle and conduit means on the flare stack. The conduit means comprises a conduit having first and second ends, the nozzle being secured to the first end of the conduit. A venturi tube is also secured to the first end of the conduit. A gas supply line is encased within the conduit and secured at the first end of the conduit by a tubing fitting. A nipple is secured to the tubing fitting and terminates at one end of the venturi tube.